Status Update on Merger with Pima Federal Credit Union
09/20/24
By Brian Ruisinger, President and Chief Executive Officer
On May 16th, RBAZ announced the signing of a Definitive Agreement to merge with Pima Federal Credit Union, based in Tucson, AZ. Since that announcement, the two management teams have had multiple interactions visiting each other’s locations and staff. A weekly management team call is held focused on collaboration and planning for integration.
RBAZ Bancorp held a special shareholder meeting on August 22nd that resulted in unanimous approval of those who voted approving the transaction where RBAZ shareholders will receive an estimated $22 per share in cash. Applications were filed on June 28th with all required State and Federal regulatory agencies, including the FDIC. Upon regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2024.
You can help expedite your receipt of the closing cash payment by identifying the presence of your shares. They may be held in electronic form in a brokerage account or paper certificated shares. If you did not exchange your original shares in Republic Bank of Arizona for shares in RBAZ Bancorp in 2021, you will need to do so before you are able to receive the cash payment from Pima at closing. Please contact Christine Haugen, RBAZ CFO, at 602-277-2500 to make the necessary exchange.
The integration process work has begun, and we are pleased with the spirit of cooperation and seeking out best practices from both teams to make a very formidable resulting institution with significant operations in the two largest population centers in AZ. Pima has 8 branches in the Tucson area, a location in Springerville and is in the process of opening branches in Yuma and the Show Low area in 2024. RBAZ has 3 locations in the Phoenix metro-area. The resulting institution will have approximately $1.5B in total assets and positioned to offer a full array of consumer and commercial banking products across a significant portion of AZ. Pima’s Federal Charter also allows for expansion outside of the state in the future.
We believe this transaction will be a great outcome for our patient, loyal shareholders after 17 years. However, the RBAZ spirit lives on in a different form as it is intended that all our staff will remain with Pima, so the same friendly faces and personal service you are accustomed to are expected to remain in place.